Bill daSilva, one of SBC's owners, cited disagreements with the landlord over extending the lease and the disruption caused by the construction of a large apartment complex currently underway at the end of the street as the restaurant's reasons for leaving the city. Saturday will be the SBC's last day serving customers in Stamford. SBC's other three locations in Milford, the Southport section of Fairfield and Branford will remain open and operating as usual.

"It's a shame, we've been a staple," daSilva said. "We basically built that street."

He added that SBC is one of the long-standing downtown restaurants, along with Bobby V's Sports Bar and Columbus Park Trattoria.

SBC attempted to negotiate an extended lease with Seaboard Properties, the owner of the 3,500 square-foot space at 131 Summer Street, but daSilva said the landlord wanted to raise the price beyond what the restaurant was willing to pay. DaSilva declined to disclose the exact price that SBC paid each month but described it as "market rent." He also stated that the building's owners indicated they wanted to take the restaurant in a more upscale direction, something that daSilva feels does not fit with current trends.

"It is really sad," said Sandy Goldstein, president of the Downtown Special Services District. "They've been here a long time, but everything evolves. It's like every business; the market can be very strong for certain restaurants and then it can change. They had a very good run."

Though SBC had another year and half left in its current lease, once negotiations to extend it failed, daSilva decided to leave the city, in part because of the dip the restaurant's business saw from the construction, he noted. The building of two developments on Summer Street, the Park Square West, apartment complex and the Summer House on lower Summer Street, has been ongoing for the past year. DaSilva said that business was reduced by 20 to 25 percent during that time period as a result. He attributed much of the drop in sales to the loss of the parking lot that was eradicated as part of the construction.

"Once they took the parking lot away, that was a big deal," daSilva said. "I know good customers who said, `Listen, it's too crazy down there.' "

DaSilva said the construction and the loss of the parking lot have deterred customers from the rest of the street, but the full extent of the impact is unclear. Christian Burns, owner of Cask Republic, which opened on Summer Street last year, said his restaurant is too recent to have really felt any effects.

"While the construction could be viewed as an inconvenience at the moment...I think the addition of these projects will far outweigh the inconvenience," Burns said.